Support assembly for supporting a cable and adapted to a rack system

ABSTRACT

A support assembly includes a first slide rail assembly, a second slide rail assembly, a first cable management device and a second cable management device. The first slide rail assembly includes a first rail and a second rail movable relative to the first rail. The second slide rail assembly includes a third rail and a fourth rail movable relative to the third rail. The first cable management device is mounted to the second rail of the first slide rail assembly and the fourth rail of the second slide rail assembly. The second cable management device includes a first cable management arm and a second cable management arm. The first cable management arm is mounted to the first rail of the first slide rail assembly and the second cable management arm is mounted to the second rail of the first slide rail assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a support assembly, and moreparticularly, to a support assembly comprising two cable managementdevices.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Slide rail assemblies have a wide range of applications, such as infurniture drawers or rack systems. Within such rack systems, a sliderail assembly is commonly used to carry an object (such as an electronicapparatus). The carried object typically contains cables that require acable management device to support. Wherein, the cable management devicetypically has two movable cable management arms that can be connected totwo slide rails of the aforementioned slide rail assembly.

A support slide assembly (1) for a cable management arm, as described inU.S. Pat. No. 7,712,615 B2, can be used with a first slide assembly(30A) and a second slide assembly (30B). The support slide assembly (1)includes a first rod (11) and a second rod (12) slidably connected tothe first rod (11), and the support slide assembly (1) can be used tosupport a cable management arm (2). When the slide rails (312, 313) ofthe two aforementioned slide assemblies (30A, 30B) move toward anopening direction relative to the first rail (311), the two cablemanagement arms (2) will be extended from a retracted status.

However, as market demands change, it may not be sufficient to supportparts of the cables of a carried object using cable management arms (2).In other words, other parts of the cables of the aforementioned carriedobject may not be sufficiently supported. Therefore, the development ofa novel product to satisfy such particular market demands has become animportant topic.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a support assembly comprising two cablemanagement devices.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a support assemblycomprises a first slide rail assembly, a second slide rail assembly, afirst cable management device, and a second cable management device. Thefirst slide rail assembly comprises a first rail and a second railmovable relative to the first rail; the second slide rail assemblycomprises a third rail and a fourth rail movable relative to the thirdrail; the first cable management device is mounted to the second rail ofthe first slide rail assembly and the fourth rail of the second sliderail assembly; the second cable management device comprises a firstcable management arm and a second cable management arm, wherein thefirst cable management arm is mounted to the first rail of the firstslide rail assembly, and the second cable management arm is mounted tothe second rail of the first slide rail assembly.

Preferably, one end of the first cable management arm is pivotallyconnected to one end of the second cable management arm. Another end ofthe first cable management arm is detachably mounted to the first railof the first slide rail assembly, whereas another end of the secondcable management arm is detachably mounted to the second rail of thefirst slide rail assembly.

Preferably, the first slide rail assembly further comprises a firstmiddle rail movably connecting the first rail and the second rail, so asto extend a movement range of the second rail relative to the firstrail. The second slide rail assembly further comprises a second middlerail moveably connecting the third rail and the fourth rail, so as toextend a movement range of the fourth rail relative to the third rail.

Preferably, the second cable management device further comprises atleast one support bar, the at least one support bar is configured tosupport one of the first cable management arm and the second cablemanagement arm.

Preferably, one of two ends of the at least one support bar is mountedto the first middle rail of the first slide rail assembly, and the otherone of the two ends of the at least one support bar is mounted to achannel of the third rail of the second slide rail assembly. Or, one ofthe two ends of the at least one support bar is mounted to the firstmiddle rail of the first slide rail assembly, and the other one of thetwo ends of the at least one support bar is mounted to the second middlerail of the second slide rail assembly. Or, one of the two ends of theat least one support bar is mounted to the first middle rail of thefirst slide rail assembly, and the other one of the two ends of the atleast one support bar is pivotally mounted to the third rail of thesecond slide rail assembly.

Preferably, the first cable management device comprises a first crossbar and a second cross bar movably connected to the first cross bar.

Preferably, the first cross bar is detachably mounted to the second railof the first slide rail assembly, and the second cross bar is detachablymounted to the fourth rail of the second slide rail assembly.

Preferably, the second cross bar is connected to the first cross bar inan extendable and retractable manner.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a support assemblyfor a rack system comprises a first slide rail assembly, a second sliderail assembly, a carried object, a first cable management device, and asecond cable management device. The first slide rail assembly is mountedto a first side of the rack system. The second slide rail assembly ismounted to a second side of the rack system. The carried object ismounted between the first slide rail assembly and the second slide railassembly. The first cable management device is positioned between thecarried object and the second cable management device, where it is usedto manage a front cable section of the carried object. The second cablemanagement device is configured to arrange a rear cable section of thecarried object.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a cable managementkit comprises a first cable management device and a second cablemanagement device. The first cable management device comprises a firstcross bar and a second cross bar movably connected to the first crossbar; the second cable management device comprises a first cablemanagement arm, a second cable management arm, and at least one supportbar; wherein the second cable management arm is pivotally connected tothe first cable management arm, and the at least one support bar isconfigured to support one of the first cable management arm and thesecond cable management arm. The first cable management device isseparate from the second cable management device.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt becomeobvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment that isillustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded schematic diagram illustrating a support assemblyaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the support assemblyimplemented on a rack system according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the support assemblyimplemented on the rack system, and the support assembly being at afirst predetermined status according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the support assemblyimplemented on the rack system, and the support assembly being at asecond predetermined status according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the support assemblyimplemented on the rack system, and a cable management device of thesupport assembly being adjusted to a first length according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the support assemblyimplemented on the rack system, and the cable management device of thesupport assembly being adjusted to a second length according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating the support assemblyimplemented on the rack system according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating the support assemblyimplemented on the rack system, and another cable management device ofthe support assembly being at a first status according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the support assemblyimplemented on the rack system, and the another cable management deviceof the support assembly being at a second status according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a support assembly 20 of the first embodimentof the present invention comprises a first slide rail assembly 22, asecond slide rail assembly 24, a first cable management device 26 and asecond cable management device 28, wherein the first cable managementdevice 26 and the second cable management device 28 comprise a cablemanagement kit.

The first slide rail assembly 22 comprises a first rail 30 and a secondrail 32, wherein the second rail 32 is movable in a longitudinaldirection relative to the first rail 30. Preferably, the first sliderail assembly 22 further comprises a first middle rail 34 movablyconnecting the first rail 30 and the second rail 32, so as to extend amovement range of the second rail 32 relative to the first rail 30.

The second slide rail assembly 24 comprises a third rail 36 and a fourthrail 38, and the fourth rail 38 is movable in a longitudinal directionrelative to the third rail 36. Preferably, the second slide railassembly 24 further comprises a second middle rail 40 movably connectingthe third rail 36 and the fourth rail 38, so as to extend a movementrange of the fourth rail 38 relative to the third rail 36.

The first cable management device 26 is mounted to the second rail 32 ofthe first slide rail assembly 22 and the fourth rail 38 of the secondslide rail assembly 24. Preferably, the first cable management device 26comprises a first crossbar 42 and a second cross bar 44, and the secondcross bar 44 is movably connected to the first cross bar 42. Preferably,the second cross bar 44 is connected to the first cross bar 42 in anextendable and retractable manner. For example, one of the first crossbar 42 and the second cross bar 44 has a channel for mounting the otherone of the first cross bar 42 and the second cross bar 44, so that thefirst cross bar 42 and the second cross bar 44 can extend or retractrelative to each other. Wherein, the first cross bar 42 is detachablymounted to the second rail 32 of the first slide rail assembly 22.Preferably, the first cross bar 42 is detachably mounted to the rear end32 a of the second rail 32 that is close to the first slide railassembly 22, through a first connecting member 46 by insertion, snappingor latching, the manner of mounting in the present invention is notlimited thereto. On the other hand, the second cross bar 44 isdetachably mounted to the fourth rail 38 of the second slide railassembly 24. Preferably, the second cross bar 44 is detachably mountedto the rear end 38 a of the fourth rail 38 that is close to the secondslide rail assembly 24 through a second connecting member 48 byinsertion, snapping or latching, the manner of mounting in the presentinvention is not limited thereto.

The second cable management device 28 comprises a first cable managementarm 50 and a second cable management arm 52. A cable management feature51 is disposed on the first cable management arm 50 and the second cablemanagement arm 52 to store or support cable (s). The aforementionedcable management feature 51 can be a containing slot or a containing boxdetachably disposed on the first cable management arm 50 and the secondcable management arm 52, the present invention is not limited thereto.Furthermore, the first cable management arm 50 is mounted on the firstrail 30 of the first slide rail assembly 22, and the second cablemanagement arm 52 is mounted on the second rail 32 of the first sliderail assembly 22. Preferably, one end E1 of the first cable managementarm 50 is pivotally connected to one end E2 of the second cablemanagement arm 52. Herein, the aforementioned end E1 of the first cablemanagement arm 50 is pivotally connected to the end E2 of the secondcable management arm 52 through a pivoting base 54 using a shaft 53 (oneof the shafts is not shown). Preferably, another end E3 of the firstcable management arm 50 is pivotally connected to a third connectingmember 56, and the end E3 is detachably mounted to the rear end 30 a ofthe first rail 30 that is close to the first slide rail assembly 22through the third connecting member 56 by insertion, snapping orlatching, the manner of mounting in the present invention is not limitedthereto. On the other hand, another end E4 of the second cablemanagement arm 52 is pivotally connected to the first connecting member46, and as mentioned previously, the first connecting member 46 isdetachably mounted to the rear end 32 a of the second rail 32 of thefirst slide rail assembly 22.

Preferably, the second cable management device 28 further comprises atleast one support bar 58, the at least one support bar 58 is configuredto support one of the first cable management arm 50 and the second cablemanagement arm 52. Supporting the bottom of the first cable managementarm 50 and the bottom of the second cable management arm 52 using the atleast one support bar 58 through the pivoting base 54 is illustrative ofan example hereinafter. Preferably, the at least one support bar 58comprises two ends, e.g., a first end T1 and a second end T2, whereinthe first end T1 is detachably mounted to the rear end 34 a of the firstmiddle rail 34 that is close to the first slide rail assembly 22 througha first mounting member 60 by insertion, snapping or latching, themanner of mounting in the present invention is not limited thereto. Onthe other hand, the second end T2 is arranged with a second mountingmember 62, and the second mounting member 62 is movably mounted to achannel 64 of the third rail 36 of the second slide rail assembly 24 soas to be behind the second middle rail 40.

As shown in FIG. 2, the support assembly 20 is suitable for a racksystem. The rack system comprises a rack, and the first slide railassembly 22 is mounted to a first side S1 of the rack. On the otherhand, the second slide rail assembly 24 is mounted to a second side S2of the rack. Preferably, the first slide rail assembly 22 is mounted toa first post 70 a and a second post 70 b of the first side S1 of therack via a first bracket 66 and a second bracket 68. On the other hand,the second slide rail assembly 24 is mounted to a third post 70 c and afourth post 70 d of the second side S2 of the rack via a third bracket72 and a fourth bracket 74.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first slide rail assembly 22 is mounted to thefirst side S1 of the rack, and the second slide rail assembly 24 ismounted to the second side S2 of the rack. Herein, a carried object 76(such as an electronic apparatus or a chassis) is mounted between thefirst slide rail assembly 22 and the second slide rail assembly 24. Thetwo sides of the carried object 76 being mounted to the second rail 32of the first slide rail assembly 22 and the fourth rail 38 of the secondslide rail assembly 24 is illustrative of an example hereinafter, butthe present invention is not limited thereto. The first cable managementdevice 26 is positioned between the carried object 76 and the secondcable management device 28; e.g., the carried object 76 is in front ofthe first cable management device 26, and the second cable managementdevice 28 is behind the first cable management device 26; wherein thefirst cable management device 26 is separate from the second cablemanagement device 28. In other words, the first cable management device26 and the second cable management device 28 are two independent cablesupport devices. That is, the first cable management device 26 isconfigured to arrange or support a front cable section 78 a of cables 78coming from the carried object 76, and the second cable managementdevice 28 is configured to arrange or support a rear cable section 78 bof cables coming from the carried object 76. Furthermore, the secondrail 32 and the fourth rail 38 can be retracted relative to the firstrail 30 and the third rail 36 respectively, such that the carried object76 is at a retracted position inside the rack. On the other hand, thefirst cable management arm 50 and the second cable management arm 52 ofthe second cable management device 28 are at a retracted status relativeto each other.

As shown in FIG. 4, the second rail 32 and the fourth rail 38 can movetoward an opening direction D relative to the first rail 30 and thethird rail 36, respectively, such that the carried object 76 leaves theaforementioned retracted position and extend outside the rack; whereinthe first cable management device 26 is led to move toward the openingdirection D by the second rail 32 and the fourth rail 38. On the otherhand, as a response to the second rail 32 moving toward the openingdirection D, the second cable management arm 52 of the second cablemanagement device 28 is led to move such that the second cablemanagement arm 52 and the first cable management arm 50 become extendedrelative to each other. Preferably, the at least one support bar 58comprises a first support bar 58 a and a second support bar 58 b. Thesecond support bar 58 b is movably connected (such as being connected inan extendable and retractable manner) to the first support bar 58 a.Herein, the first end T1 is located on the second support bar 58 b. Onthe other hand, the second end T2 is located on the first support bar 58a.

As shown in FIG. 5, a rack width W between the two sides of a rack in arack system (such as the rack width W between the first post 70 a andthe third post 70 c) typically has a predetermined specification. Inorder to accommodate the aforementioned carried object 76 with a firsttype of width, it is sometimes necessary to use a slide rail assembly(such as the first slide rail assembly 22 or the second slide railassembly 24) with a first width W1 to accommodate said width of thecarried object 76. Here, the second cross bar 44 of the first cablemanagement device 26 with an adjustable (via extension or retractionrelative to the first cross bar 42) first length L1 can be configured toadapt to or accommodate the slide rail assembly with the first width W1.

As shown in FIG. 6, sometimes the carried object 76 can have a secondwidth under different requirements. Therefore, a slide rail assembly(such as the first slide rail assembly 22 or the second slide railassembly 24) with a second width W2 (different from the aforementionedfirst width W1) is needed to accommodate the said second width of thecarried object 76. Here, the second cross bar 44 of the first cablemanagement device 26 with an adjustable (via extension or retractionrelative to the first cross bar 42) second length L2 that is differentfrom the aforementioned first length L1 can be configured to adapt to oraccommodate the slide rail assembly with the second width W2.

FIG. 7 shows a support assembly according to the second embodiment ofthe present invention. The substantial difference between the supportassembly of the second embodiment and the support assembly 20 of thefirst embodiment is the following: a first end T1 of at least onesupport bar 202 of a second cable management device 200 of the secondembodiment is detachably mounted to the rear end 34 a of the firstmiddle rail 34 that is close to the first slide rail assembly 22 througha first mounting member 204 by insertion, snapping or latching; on theother hand, a second end T2 of at least one support bar 202 isdetachably mounted to the rear end 40 a of the second middle rail 40that is close to the second slide rail assembly 24 through a secondmounting member 206 by insertion, snapping or latching. Such arrangementallows the at least one support bar 202 to move along with the firstmiddle rail 34 and the second middle rail 40.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a support assembly according to the third embodimentof the present invention. The substantial difference between the supportassembly of the third embodiment and the support assembly 20 of thefirst embodiment is the following: a first end T1 of a first support bar302 a of at least one support bar 302 of a second cable managementdevice 300 of the third embodiment is detachably mounted to the rear endof the first middle rail 34 that is close to the first slide railassembly 22 through a first mounting member 304 by insertion, snappingor latching; on the other hand, a second end T2 of a second support bar302 b of at least one support bar 302 is mounted to the rear end of thethird rail 36 (fixed rail) that is close to the second slide railassembly 24 through a second mounting member 306. Preferably, the secondend T2 is pivotally connected to a mounting base 308 of a rear end ofthe third rail 36. In such arrangement, a second support bar 302 b canpivot and swing when the first middle rail 34 moves in the openingdirection D relative to the first rail 30, and a first support bar 302 acan change from a retracted status into an extended status relative tothe second support bar 302 b, so as to accommodate the extension of afirst cable management arm 310 relative to a second cable management arm312. It is worth noting that the aforementioned first cable managementdevice 26 is not illustrated in the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 8and 9.

It can be seen from the aforementioned embodiments according to thepresent invention that the support assembly herein includes thefollowing advantages:

1. The first cable management device 26 is mounted to the second rail 32of the first slide rail assembly 22 and the fourth rail 38 of the secondslide rail assembly 24, and the second cable management device 28comprises the first cable management arm 50 and the second cablemanagement arm 52. The first cable management arm 50 is mounted to thefirst rail 30 of the first slide rail assembly 22, and the second cablemanagement arm 52 is mounted to the second rail 32 of the first sliderail assembly 22.

2. The first cable management device 26 and the second cable managementdevice 28 are two independent cable supporting devices configured tosupport the different sections of cables (such as the front cablesection 78 a and the rear cable section 78 b) behind the carried object76.

3. The length of the first cable management device 26 can be adjusted toaccommodate slide rail assemblies with varying widths.

4. The second cable management device 28 comprises at least one supportbar, the at least one support bar is configured to support one of thefirst cable management arm 50 and the second cable management arm 52.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerousmodifications and alterations of the device and method may be made whileretaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the abovedisclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and boundsof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A support assembly for supporting a cable andadapted to a rack system, the support assembly comprising: a first sliderail assembly mounted to a first side of the rack system, the firstslide rail assembly comprising a first rail, a second rail movablerelative to the first rail and a first middle rail movably connectingthe first rail and the second rail, so as to extend a movement range ofthe second rail relative to the first rail; a second slide rail assemblymounted to a second side of the rack system, the second slide railassembly comprising a third rail, a fourth rail movable relative to thethird rail and a second middle rail moveably connecting the third railand the fourth rail, so as to extend a movement range of the fourth railrelative to the third rail; a carried object mounted between the firstslide rail assembly and the second slide rail assembly; a first cablemanagement device with two ends respectively mounted to the first sliderail assembly and the second slide rail assembly, the first cablemanagement device comprises a first cross bar and a second cross barmovably connected to the first cross bar, the first cross bar isdetachably mounted to the rear end of the second rail that is close tothe first slide rail assembly through a first connecting member, and thesecond cross bar is detachably mounted to the rear end of the fourthrail that is close to the second slide rail assembly through a secondconnecting member; and a second cable management device comprising afirst cable management arm and a second cable management arm, one end ofthe first cable management arm being pivotally connected to one end ofthe second cable management arm, another end of the first cablemanagement arm being detachably mounted to the first rail of the firstslide rail assembly, and another end of the second cable management armbeing detachably mounted to the second rail of the first slide railassembly, the second cable management device further comprising at leastone support bar, the at least one support bar being configured tosupport one of the first cable management arm and the second cablemanagement arm, the at least one support bar having two endsrespectively mounted to the first slide rail assembly and the secondslide rail assembly; wherein the first cable management device isbetween the carried object and the second cable management device, thefirst cable management device is configured to arrange a front cablesection of the carried object; wherein the second cable managementdevice is configured to arrange a rear cable section of the carriedobject.
 2. The support assembly of claim 1, wherein the carried objectis in front of the first cable management device, and the second cablemanagement device is behind the first cable management device.
 3. Thesupport assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one support barfurther comprises a first support bar and a second support bar movablyconnected to the to the first support bar.